People won`t forgive Congress if it withdraws support to AAP: Prashant Bhushan

Mumbai: People of Delhi won`t forgive Congress if it withdraws support to the Arvind Kejriwal-led government, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Prashant Bhushan said here on Wednesday.

He said Lok Sabha elections are the next target for his party after the "success" in Delhi assembly polls.

"We are not in an alliance with Congress. Congress gave support because of its own compulsions. We said we won`t accept any conditions," Bhushan told reporters here.

To a query what would AAP do if Congress withdraws support, Bhushan said "the people of Delhi won`t forgive Congress in next polls if it pulls down the people`s government."
"You are aware that we did not start out for electoral politics nor for grabbing power. Our aim was Jan Lokpal and corruption-free India. But the big parties taunted us that we won`t be able to defeat them in polls," the senior Supreme Court advocate said.

"We also felt that people want a change. We elected them (politicians) for five years and they take graft from big companies and make laws which are not in people`s interest," he said.

AAP`s mission is to bring about a transformation in the country to ensure democratic and legal rights to the common man, he said.
The present power structures in the country, including the judicial system, do not guarantee meaningful participation of and rights to the vast majority of people, Bhushan said.

It was time that radical changes were brought about in every sphere of the polity including bureaucracy, police and judiciary, he said.

"We formed the party out of compulsion," he said.

The results of Delhi polls had damaged the ego of big political parties, he said while describing BJP as "overtly communal" and Congress as "covertly communal."

"The results of Delhi elections have given a new ray of
hope for disillusioned countrymen", Bhushan said. "I don`t consider AAP as just a party but a movement for changing the system," he said.

The party would contest Lok Sabha polls "in the entire country," the leader said.
He did not disclose the number of seats AAP would contest. "We will contest seats where we get good candidates and where the organisational network is there," he said.

So far, district units of the party are in place in 310 districts in the country and the number is rising, he said.

"In Delhi, people are seeing the difference in the style of governance of AAP and other parties. AAP feels the government should be transparent and accountable to people," he said.
To a query on tie-up with regional parties, Bhushan said "In this country, even the regional parties are corrupt."

Asked who would be the party`s face in Lok Sabha elections, he said "Kejriwal is the biggest face but there are others as well. This party is not one which runs on (the basis of) anyone`s face."

To another query on comparison between BJP`s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and Kejriwal, he said "There is a vast difference. Modi represents the same politics of crony capitalism."

On Kejriwal`s government ordering an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) into the finances of the capital`s three private power distribution companies, he said "previous governments didn`t order CAG audit as they were hand-in-glove with the companies."

On AAP`s stance on recovery of loans by public financial institutions, Bhushan said money must be recovered from promoters/owners of defaulter companies.

To a query on seeking help from Anna Hazare and Medha Patkar for his party`s foray in elections in Maharashtra, AAP leader Mayank Gandhi said "Their view is not to be in politics. We respect Anna. In fact, the party has been set up on his principles."